Ontario service centres getting overhaul

By Mike Deibert

TORONTO—A new operator has started an overhaul costing more than $300 million of the 23 travel and service centres on Highways 400 and 401 in Ontario.

The number of restaurant brands in the centres will be increased from five to 13.
The restaurant chains that will be serving food at the revamped centres are Tim Hortons, Casey’s, East Side Mario’s, Extreme Pita, Pizza Pizza, Teriyaki Experience, Yogen Früz, NY Fries, Starbucks Coffee, A & W, Burger King,  Brioche Dorée, Cold Stone Creamery, and Quiznos. Pusateri’s upscale food markets will be at some centres.

HMSHost will also have its own convenience stores, called The Market, selling fresh, hot and cold food to go, inside the food malls with the restaurants.

When all the renovations are complete, all the restaurants currently in the service centres will still be there except Mr. Sub.

The Ontario government has awarded Host Kilmer Service Centers a 50-year contract to run the centres, with the company investing $100 million and the province $200 million for the first 20 centres to be updated.

HKSC is a partnership of HMSHost Corporation, based in Bethesda, MD, and Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. Limited of Toronto.

HKSC is aiming for variety at each service centre, so they won’t each be duplicates of the other.

Canadian Tire Corporation will run the fuel services with attached convenience stores, replacing three oil companies which the province says have decided not to renew their leases for the properties.

The first 20 overhauls are scheduled to be completed by 2013 and the other three by 2018.

A Host Kilmer release says the company expects to ring up revenues of $100 million annually over 50 years.

HMS Host, with more than $2.7 billion US in annual sales, is part of the Autogrill Group, which provides food and beverage to travellers globally.

HMS Host has food, beverage and retail operations in 86 travel plazas in the U.S. and Canada and 111 airports around the world. The company says it operates in the 20 busiest airports in North America, including Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport.

Kilmer Van Nostrand is a 40-year-old private equity fund headed by Larry Tanenbaum, with interests in construction, building products, sports, cable television, publishing and food processing. It has a share in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and Toronto FC.

All the centres are planned to be environmentally friendly, achieving a LEED silver certification. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)  designation means the centre’s design, materials and furnishings meet high environmental standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The new food court building is an atrium with sloped glass walls. The design also incorporates stone veneer and wood trellises. Inside are warm, earthy colours, tile floors and exposed ceilings with suspended panels.

Among the companies involved in design and construction of the new centres are the Ontario firms EllisDon, Quadrangle Architects and Bruce Mau Design.

Seven centres will open with the Canadian Tire fuel pumps and convenience stores in July this year, and will have foodservices running in September. They are in Bainsville, Tilbury North, Tilbury South, West Lorne, Trenton North, Dutton and Morrisburg.